Fighting for You: Property Owner Clears Huntsville Dump Site

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – Drivers along North Memorial Parkway may notice a better view in the coming days. Construction has started at a dump site we’ve reported on a couple of times. A woman told WHNT NEWS 19 the dump site had become an eyesore.

Drivers can now easily see the trees and an open field. WHNT NEWS 19 first reported on the site in July. A woman urged WHNT NEW 19 to take a look at the site and its junk along with a nearby park. The woman recalled the park had been revitalized and the dump site was creating a mess. The woman wondered why it was happening. She wanted someone to clean things up.

Tina Alexander noticed how things started looking on North Memorial Parkway. She had a feeling the cleanliness on one side and the mess on the other wasn’t right. The city of Huntsville said the so-called mess was compliant with city ordinances. The site was being used as a dump site for a project under construction downtown.

A Huntsville Department of Public Works Manager was concerned about some things on the site.

“At first notice, I saw the shingles and that is illegal,” said Jackie Burgreen.

WHNT NEWS 19 looked for the property owner. Mike Grisham owns the property. The owner said he was unaware illegal dumping was going on at his site.

“We were very frustrated because we could not stop it. I do not live in Huntsville. I don’t frequent the area,” said Mike Grisham.

The clutter continued and an opportunity for the city to fine the owner came up. The owner worked with the city to fix the problem. The illegal materials expanded in the process. The owner wanted to remove it all, but couldn’t until the state gave him permission to get into their right-of-way. The owner made a request in August. The state responded a couple of weeks ago. Grisham is now able to clear dirt away from the site.

“We’re going to be putting a little fence up there to keep people from being able to get to our property. The state will be putting up right-of-way signs on their property,” added Grisham.

Grisham told WHNT NEWS 19 he has no plans now to put anything on the site. He’s hoping that will change soon.